Students Guard Against Premature Blade Failure

摘要

The overall weight of the guard was reduced by over 50 percent from 32 pounds to 14.9 pounds. This was achieved primarily by the change in guard material from ANSI 1025 steel to 6061-T6 aluminum. This weight reduction, along with adding a permanent handle to the top of the guard, should reduce operator strain. The project team did not experience any losses in structural integrity as a result of this change in material. In fact, the possible deflection of the guard side walls was actually reduced by the addition of reinforcing ribs welded onto either side of the new design. The final design put forward by the students also met the specified reduction in water usage. From preliminary testing under normal conditions, the team found that a saw was operated with a water flow rate of approximately three gallons per minute.